💖 HOMILY - JUNE 10 💖

First Reading - Tobit 12:1,5-15,20

Gospel - Mark 12:38-44

There is a popular saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover." This saying certainly encourages one to overcome prejudices. However, this saying also can mean that more than appearance something else matters. This is simply to say what something that appears as it's may not be true. The readings of the day encourage us to overcome superficial or ostentatious life and drive ourselves to a more genuine and sincere life.

In the first reading, we come across a concluding part of the stroy of Tobit. This pericope is filled with the exhortation to praise God with sincerity of heart. As everything falls in track in the family of Tobit, finally Raphael breaks the silence of his identity. He reveals to the family of Tobit that he is an angel who stands in the presence of the Lord and intercedes. However, for every good work, Raphael exhorts Tobit and his family praise the Lord in sincerity. He also further explains how to praise God; by making known to all the good works of the Lord, by acting in righteousness (doing good and avoiding evil), by having right conscience for every gesture of piety or action, and by becoming generous in sharing with the needy (almsgiving). The exhortation of Raphael concretizes how the gesture of thanksgiving should be from the people.

The gospel passage can be divided into two parts; first part deals with the warning and; the second part deals with didactic instruction with the example of the generous widow. The first part includes warnings of Jesus to avoid external or superfluous gestures of piety. He cites the example of the pharisees who represented the superficial nature of piety but in reality they executed injustice and harm to the vulnerable. Therefore, Jesus also implicitly exhorts his disciples to demonstrate a coherent piety that is sincere and genuine.

Through the example of widow, Jesus teaches his disciples the example of sincerity and genuineness. Sitting at the treasury, Jesus observes that how the rich gave some of their resources but the widow everything that she had, though the amount given by her was materially very less in comparison to others but in the sight of Jesus was a great and sincere sacrifice. During the time of Jesus, there categories of people were put under the category of vulnerable i.e. widows, children, and sojourners. They were so because they were dependent on others, like, a widow had no one to depend after the death of her husband. She infact struggled for their survival. At this point, that particular widow gave everything that she had for her survival. This was noticed by Jesus and that's why he praises her generous and sincere gesture.

Dear friends, we know that we live in an ostentatious world. It's all delusive appearance. We are invited today to a sincere life which moves from being showy to be real and genuine. The first reading exhorts us to genuine and sincere in our gestures of praises to Lord. It's amazing to notice that the gestures of praises does not include only prayers but it extends to our whole life where we are able to live opting and doing good, living in right conscience and even we able to reach out to the needy. They are sincere gestures of gratitude to the Lord. Furthermore, the gospel also exhorts us to make sincerity and genuineness as our mode of life because this pleases God. Our lack of coherence like Pharisees, as mentioned in the gospel, can deserve hatred of God but sincerity of life like the widow wins God's favour. The example of widow, as she offered her whole sustenance for the temple tax, must encourage us to invest our whole self to live our daily life in sincere praise to the Lord. 

Let's pray that we may be able to give sincere and genuine praise to God through our lives.